Irish Christmas Traditions, Toasts and Blessings from The Irish Jewelry Company

Greetings!

Want to wish your friends and family
Merry Christmas in Irish this season? Well that's easy simply tell them
"Nollaig Shona Dhuit" pronounced NO-Lihg HO-nuh ghwich and literally
translated means Happy Christmas. Today in Ireland, the most commonly
used greeting during the holiday season is "Happy Christmas." Our Irish Blessing and Claddagh Wreath Christmas cards will also do the trick.

"The light of the Christmas star to you, The warmth of home and
hearth to you, The cheer and good will of friends to you, The hope of a
childlike heart to you, The joy of a thousand angels to you, The love
of the Son and God's peace to you."

In Ireland fall is the time of the year to make the house ready for
the upcoming holiday celebrations. An Irish home is cleaned top to
bottom. Special holiday Irish Linens, like our 12 Days of Christmas Tea Towel are brought out of storage. Once all is clean it is ready for festive Christmas decorating and a cozy turf fire! Cuddle up to our exclusive Irish Country Candles with our popular scents like Turf Fire and Celtic Winter. And for those more romantic winter evenings try our Celtic Love Spell Candle.

Did you know that "Holly and Holly Wreaths" were Irish traditions
too? Yep, that's right. No Irish home would be complete without the
holly. Holly grows wild in Ireland and is used to decorate the entire
house. The Celtics believed holly represented life and rebirth much like the Tree of Life. The
evergreen leaves symbolized life during a time when all else was bare
and the red berries represented the coming of Spring. With the coming
of Christianity to Ireland the berries took on a new meaning, new life
in Christ. One charming folklore says holly is put out as a kind
gesture to tiny fairies who might use it as a hiding place to come in
out of the cold if ou don't have a proper Magical Fairy Door. Holly wreaths as a door decoration can be traced to
North American Irish immigrating to the US during the Great Potato
Famine.

The ancient Celts believed that mistletoe had healing powers. Its
powers were so great that its presence encourage a brief truce among
enemies. Hence the Victorian era custom of kissing under the mistletoe.
So turn up the Irish Christmas Music, start playing your Bodhráns, hang the mistle toe and let the kissing begin!

Do you put a candle in the window at Christmas time as part of your
decoration? Well, guess what that's an Irish Christmas tradition too!
Candles in the window date back to ancient time's laws of hospitality
towards stronger. To have a light in your window on Christmas Eve to
welcome the stranger meant that you were welcoming the Holy Family too.
To have no light meant that you shared the guilt of the Innkeeper at
Bethlehem who said, "No Room"!

In Ireland they have traditional holiday foods. The Irish Christmas
cooking usually starts early with the making of plum pudding, fruit cakes, breads, and spiced beef. A traditional Irish Christmas meal
might consist of roasted goose, potatoes, cranberry sauce,
vegetables, sausages, puddings, and yummy fruit cakes. Our Fecking Book of Irish Recipes has all the traditional Irish recipes like Irish Soda Bread and Bread Pudding for the holidays with a bit od Irish humor as well. Our yummy Irish chocolate bars are the perfect holiday stocking stuffers.

Don't forget you can always start your own Irish Christmas traditions ... like hanging a St. Brigid's Cross in the door way for triming your tree with Irish ornaments like our Doors of Ireland ornament.

Most of all don't forget to toast your family and friends on Christmas with a lovely Irish Coffee after dinner.
Impress your family and firends with a "Wee Bit -O- Irish" this holiday
season. Try this Irish Christmas Toasts In Gealic, "Nollaig faoi shéan
is faoi shonas duit." It means "A prosperous and happy Christmas to
you."

As they say in Ireland on Christmas "May peace and plenty be the first
to lift the latch on your door, and happiness be guided to your home by
the candle of Christmas."

In Scotland,
Christmas had traditionally been celebrated very quietly, because the Church of
Scotland. The Scottish people have
their big celebrations on New Year's Day, called Hogmanay.

A long time ago there is a superstition that it is
bad luck for the fire to go out on Christmas Eve, since it is at this time that
the elves are abroad and only a raging fire will keep them from coming down the
chimney. So on Christmas day, people
sometimes make big bonfires and dance around them to the playing of bagpipes. Bannock cakes made of oatmeal are
traditionally eaten at Christmas.

In Scotland
Santa Claus didn't visit on Christmas Day traditional.
He would be come after Hogmanay Night on the first day of the New Year.

Now a days it would seem
that Scotland
is making up for lost time and its four Christmasless centuries by putting
December 25 very firmly back on the holiday agenda.
It's the perfect time to make your own Scottish family Christmas traditions. Break out the tartan apron, linens and trim the tree with
Scottish ornaments.

With all of the festivities, Christmas is a time of parties and
get-togethers. Blessings and toasts are often
offered to the health of those present, to honor the living and in memory of
one who had died. Give this Scottish blessing a try during Christmas and toast to the New Year: "May God shower joy upon us, my dear family, Christmas
brings us all good things. God give
us grace to see the New Year; and if we do not increase in numbers may we at
all events not decrease."

Christmas in Wales...

As in many countries
throughout the world, Christmas and its celebrations are a favorite time of the
year in Wales,
and there are many traditions connected with it like
decorating homes with fresh mistletoe and holly. Mistletoe to protect the home
from evil and holly as a symbol of eternal life.

The Welsh
are great lovers of music and so every year at Christmas, carol singing is the
most enjoyed activity. In the
churches, they are sung to the harp.
They are sung in people's homes around the Christmas tree and at the doors and
windows of the houses.Caroling is called eisteddfodde
and is often accompanied by the harp.

Taffy making is one of the
most important of the Welsh Christmas.
This involves the making of the special kind of chewy toffee from brown sugar
and butter. The Christmas goose is also essential.

Today the Welsh people
maintain most of the traditional customs associated with Ireland and England such as giving lovespoons, hanging holly and mistletoe,
making pudding, singing carols, Christmas stockings, oranges, crackers and lots of snow. Start your own Welsh traditions with our Welsh Christmas ornaments and Welsh tea towels.

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